Thanking a donor the right way might mean the difference between a one-time gift or a life-long funder. The economic downturn has even changed the way acknowledgements are delivered, says Merkle Response Management Group president Bill Sayre. His company is hired by nonprofits to process donations and handle recognition. The proper thank you goes a long way, considering it’s cheaper to retain a donor than acquire a new one. Bill points to a recent Burk Donor Survey that found 23% of donors that received an exceptional thank you letter made a more generous donation the next time.
Merkle uses this image system to capture data for acknowledgements. One of the latest trends, says Bill, is nonprofits sending letters faster than the typical two to four weeks. Now a mere 48 hours goes by between the check being deposited and the thank you note being mailed. Nonprofits are also making the letter more about the donor. Bill says there might be a line that says, “You were there when we needed you.” Nonprofits are also making thank you phone calls, which has been well received. (To summarize: Modern man craves any form of human contact, preferably more than 140 characters.) Bill says nonprofits are also starting to dabble in micro-data like thanking a donor for using their own stamp rather than the postage provided by the nonprofit.
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